Crawler for electric or other conduits



(No Model.)

H. G. MORRIS. GRAWLER POR ELEGTRIG 0R OTHER GONDUITS. No. 383,756.

vPatented May 29, 1888.

lxllll lljlllllllllll made up of a number of sections j oined togetherHENRY G. MORRIS, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

CRAWLER lFOR ELECTRIC OR OTHER CONDUITS..

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 383,756, dated May 29,1888.

Application iilcd December 17, 1887. Serial No. 158,179.' (No model.) i

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY G. MORRIS, a citizen ofthe United States, anda resident of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, haveinvented an ImprovedCrawler for Electric or other Oonduits, of which the following is aspecification.

The object of my invention is to construct a crawler which can beinserted at one end of the conduit and caused t gradually work its waythrough the conduit from one end tothe other. This object I attain inthe manner and by the means hereinafter fully set forth and claimed,reference being had tothe accompanying drawings, in which-- Figure l isa perspective view of my improved crawler. Figs. 2 and 8 are sectionalviews of a conduit with my improved crawler, illustrating the operationof the latter. Fig. 4 is a view of a portion of the crawler adapted to acylindrical conduit, and Figs. 5 and 6 are views illustratingmodifications of my invention.

My improvement has been designed especially for drawing electric wiresthrough underground conduits. This has generally been done byintroducing into the conduit a rod at one end of the conduit and pushedinto the same until it projects at the opposite end, being thenintroduced into a successive section, or the sections of the rod areremoved from each other and packed for future use.

The great objection to all eontrivances of this class is the weight ofthe rod, and when it is introduced into a long conduit it is almostimpossible to push it forward to the end. Stout wires have been used invery short sections of conduit; but these are objectionable, as the wirehas a tendency to buckle. I overcome all these objections by my improveddevice,which can be caused to travel through a con-duit of any desiredlength with very little, if any, more exertion at the end than at thebeginning of the operation.

A is a block having a tapered point, a, and a rearwardly-projecting bar,B, which passes through a block, D. At the sides ofthe block A arespring-grippcrs b Z, having serrated edges and fastened to the block Aat b in any suitable manner,and on the rear block,D.are similargrippers, d d, secured to the block at d.

Attached to the front portion of the block D I at e is a rope, F.,whichpasses into the block A and around a pulley, F, therein, and thencethrough an oritice in the block D, this rope being ot'a lengthsuiiicient to pass through the longest section of conduit.

Secured at g to the rear end of the block D is a rope, G, which passesfirst backward over a pulley, H, on the rear end ofthe bar B of theblock A, thence into the block D and around a pulley, I, therein, andthence out at the rear of the block, being carried with the rope E tothe mouth of the conduit. The serrated edges of the springgrippersproject at an angle, as shown,so that they will prevent any backwardmovement of either block, but will not interfere with the free forwardmovement of the same. It will therefore be seen that when the parts arein the position shown in Fig. 2 a p ull upon the cord G will cause theblock Dto bind in the conduit, but will push forward the bar B and blockA, as shown in Fig. 3, land by then pulling upon the cord E the block Awill be caused to bind and the block D will be drawn up to the same, asshown in Fig. 2. It will thus be seen that by first pulling on one cordand then on the other the crawler will be caused to pass by successiveslight advances through the conduit until it emerges from the far end ofthe same.

A wire or rope can be attached to one ofthe cords E or G, and when thesecords are drawn through the conduit at the opposite end the wire or cordwill follow, after which any number of wires can be introduced into theconduit; or a hook, t, (shown in Fig. 1,) may be attached to the bar Bor block D, and a wire or additional cord, h, may be attached to thishook, if preferred.

I have'shown in Figs. 1, 2,and 3 the crawler constructed for applicationto a square conduit; but it will be understood that it can be formed tont conduits of any shape. For instance, in Fig. 4t I have shown theblock A with four grippers, b, adapted to engage with the sides of acylindrical conduit.

In the modification shown inFig'. 5 thegrippers are hinged at It nearthe front ends, and small springsk are inserted back ofthe grippers, andin the modication shown in Fig. 6 in the place of metallic grippers Ihave shown a cylindrical gripper made of rubber or other suitablematerial, and from. these it will be ICC:

understood that any gripper can be used which will prevent either oftheblocks A or D from moving backward, but will allow them to move forward.It will also be understood that plows and brushes can be secured to thefrontof the crawler, as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 3, when it isfound necessary to clean or scour the conduit, and the crawler, it willbe evident, can be introduced into conduits other than electricconduits- 21s, forinstance, in water and gas mains.

I have described pulleys over which the ropes pass; but it will beunderstood that any suitable rope-bearings may be used,and chai ns,wires7 or cords may be substituted for ropes, if desired.

I claim as my inventionl. The within-described crawler for conduits,said crawler consisting of two blocks, each provided with grippers forpreventing back movement, and two ropes or cords, one imparting apositive forward movement to one block and the other imparting apositive forward movement to the other block, substan l tiall y ,as andfor the purpose described. l

2. The combination of the two blocks, each provided with grippers forpreventing back movement;I and two ropes or cords, each c0nnected to oneblock and passing around a bearing on the other block, all substantiallyas speciied.

3. The combination ofthe blocks A and D, each provided with grippers toprevent back movement, an arm, B, passing from the block A through theblock D, a rope, E, secured to the frontof the block D,passingaround aropebearing in the block A, and thence back past the block D, and arope, G, secured to the rear of the block D and passing around aropebearing on the arm B, thence around a ropebearing on the block D,and thence back through said block, all substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specication in thepresence of two subseribing witnesses.

HENRY G. MORRlS.

Vitnesses:

WILLIAM D. CoNNER, HARRY SMITH.

